SHOW US THE MONEY VOREQE!

While the illegal regime and the old oink bully the Methodist Church and GMB Ro Teimumu, who are trying their best to keep Fiji on an even keel through good honest work, can someone please ask the coupsters what they’ve done with the loans from China?

Instead of trying to be something they’re not, they need to be made accountable and transparent about how the loans have been used to the last cent.

How about it illegal regime? How about revealing the spending to the Nation, after all the whole issue about the 5.12.06 coup was ‘committment on the need to facilitate the practicalities of the rule of law, creating transparency, facilitating access to justice and removing systematic corruption’ the illegal self appointed Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama in his address at the Tradewinds Convention Centre on Fiji’s Strategic Framework for Change, and has been stating since 5.12.06.

Whew, old rarua has systematically looted the coffers, tried to hoodwink this Nation and the rest of the world but he’s only fooling himself.

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Rowan Callick, Asia-Pacific editor | July 22, 2009

Article from: The Australian

CHINA gave $254 million in secretive aid to Pacific island countries last year, a report released today by the Lowy Institute reveals, placing it on a par with other major donors Europe, Japan and New Zealand but well below Australia.

The report, by Lowy research fellow Fergus Hanson, concludes that “China lacks a coherent strategy” for the aid program, “beyond checking and reversing diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, and it tends to pursue short-term objectives”.

One such objective has been to upgrade its engagement with the military regime in Fiji, to which it loaned $185m in 2007 and $102m last year.

“The extent of China’s engagement with the Fiji regime suggests a miscalculation on China’s behalf,” the report says. “There is no doubt it has been successful in currying favour with the regime, but it would seem a risky way to position itself in the longer term in Fiji.”

China’s aid to the Pacific, Mr Hanson says, is “pledged in an erratic manner”, and projects are funded without regard to recurrent costs — sometimes distorting the budgets of island nations. “The secrecy surrounding its program obstructs development outcomes and breeds suspicion,” he says.

The report urges China to “seize the opportunity presented by the diplomatic truce ushered in by the election of President Ma Ying-jeou in Taiwan to refocus its Pacific aid program towards longer-term development goals that also better serve Chinese national interests”.

And “traditional donors” such as Australia “should explore innovative ways of engaging China”.

The details of China’s aid program are state secrets, says the Lowy report. But the think tank obtained what it believes to be an accurate assessment of Chinese aid through “extensive co-operation with numerous officials across the region, on the condition of anonymity”.

China tends to give grants, the reports says, in units of 10million RMB ($1.8m) at a time.

“China is often portrayed as pursuing a well-thought-out, long-term strategy to extend its influence in the Pacific,” it says. “However, there is little evidence it has a comprehensive grand strategy guiding its approach beyond its tussle with Taiwan.”

There has been no change in the balance of recognition since Mr Ma’s election last year, with Taiwan retaining the loyalty of six Pacific states, but this may be tested by next year’s election in the “jewel in its Pacific crown”, the Solomon Islands.

A consequence of this diplomatic battle has been that China has pursued “short-term opportunism that often undercuts its longer-term interests, as well as those of the region”.

Most of China’s aid goes on infrastructure projects. “The Pacific is in critical need of good infrastructure,” the report says. “However, the criticisms levelled at China’s infrastructure projects tend to focus on sustainability, debt burdening and lack of flow-on benefits.”

62 Responses to “SHOW US THE MONEY VOREQE!”

What has happened to the Corruption Investigation Coup? I guess the Coup was for your Corruption Practices eh Fran-con?

As my TOVATAS from LAU say…”Ka ni tawa boka”. Its clearly spelled Frankie-Con. Guess what? I think your Indian friends that you have brought to Government are enjoying your ‘kiss-ass’, ‘masipolo’ style…They just LOVE it!

See! That is the problem of NOT knowing what to do and getting five-eighth Consultancy Service! Everything you say or do reflects the IQ Level you have!

I remember when I was in the then RFMF under the leadership of Officers such as Lt. Tarakinikini, Major Mataikabara, Major. Vakarau, Col Hennings, Col Tuatoko, Col Naivalurua…They always say that if ever we[RFMF Soldiers] come across somebody who is doing something that is beyond his IQ Level then he has an initiative of an earthworm! Simply put…he has no idea whether he is a male or female!

The Methodist Church should never back down. We’ll come to Suva for backup if you guys at home cann’t do it. Let us overseas Fijians know should our experts be required in other areas. But we trust you guys at home can do it. Do it for us your brothers overseas. We are doing our best so far but one week to go. Solidarity and we’ll win it.

Yeah, the local guys can’t do it, so us overseas folks are going to go back to Fiji and take on the military. I like that attitude, “If I was in Fiji, I would have never taken this bullshit, how come the local guys are not doing anything”.

BTW the Methodist Church screwed it up. They knew that Frank had publicly made his position very clear as to what would it take for them to have that conference. Even if we accept your “Bipolar, Frank being a psycho” crap, everyone knew that Frank would not back down from that position. It was up to the Church to come up with some compromise.

What the Church should have done, rather than push back, is to find some compromise, where it looks like Frank got his way and the Church gets its conference.

But no, the Church wanted a confrontation and that is what we have. Let us wait and see if the Church can call Frank’s bluff, because Frank has just called their bluff.

Frank is acting exactly as one would expect him to – and the church knew this, so let us see what they have up their sleeve. The church does not want its conference, the church want’s confrontation with the regime. And if this is what this is all about, then go ahead, bring it on and Frank has everyright to do what he is doing.

@ Budhau….what right does Frank have? He does not have our mandate so do not say that he has every right….he obtained that so-called “right” through the barrel of the gun. And now he is trying to suppress our rights to openly discuss issues affecting 300,000 + Methodists, be it politics, poverty or spiritual strengthening….that is our right because it affects us. So please do not insult our intelligence with your trying to justify cranky pig’s actions!!!

Any military dictatorship anywhere in the world, once they have become the de-facto government, it becomes their duty to address the “law and order” issue and those related to national security.

We can argue all we want that this is a illegitimate regime, however, that does not mean that this regime should allow others to create an environment that may lead to another coup or overthrow of this regime.

The Methodist church knew what Frank’s publicly stated position was on this issue. They also knew that it would be difficult for Frank, or for that matter any other military dictator, to back down from that position – especially when that position had been publicly stated. Thus, it was incumbent upon the church to come up with a compromise so that Frank could allow the conference to go ahead and also save his face at the same time. Now that would have been smart, that is, if the Church’s goal was to have the conference.

It seems that the Church was not really interested in the conference, they seem to be more interested in the confrontation – with the hope that this confrontation may lead to the downfall of this regime.

If they wanted confrontation, they got one and it looks like Frank will prevail – even if that is just in the short term.

So I guess both sides are doing what they seem to think they should do. I just think strategically, this was a wrong move on the Church’s part.

When Frank came down on the Church with his terms and conditions, they should not have pushed back, knowing that pushing back against Franks strength may not be in their best interest. They should have found a compromise that would let the conference go ahead, and take a stand against the regime another time.

What Frank did is what any military dictator would do – the Church knew this and still decided to get into a confrontation with the hopes that the masses will back the church – well let us see if the Church was right.

Anon – no one is trying to insult your intelligence. All I am saying is that this has nothing to do with the conference – this is a confrontation that some in the Methodist Church were looking for and they got it.

This has little to do with whether you support the regime or oppose it – this is just my observation. I am not trying to justify any ones actions.

Mr T says to all the ‘Tauvu’s’, I like your ‘Qai qo ana qai ga’ attitude. Pretty confident to me. We’re comming to Rewa on the day, like it or not as long as you stood your ground and give us permission and blessing. The war is on and will be on your land. Sorry Voreqe and supporters. Try and stop us.

Damn, right Mr.T. This terrorist (Bast..ds) groups must not prevail succesfully in Fiji. Whats legal in the country right now. If nothing, then bring the world news with you on the day to witness the occasion. We’ll die with you. Sad to see it comming down to this but we’re left with little or no choice . Watching the old lady begging on behalf of Ro Teimumu makes me sad. We want more chief to stand up and incite all church members to stand up. Bring it on.

Even if the pig prevails in the short term….he must remember that we the mass, will eventually get what we want! He may feel that he has won but that would be wishful thinking….and he better be prepared for the consequences!

Just because he has strangled us to the point of suffocation, does not mean that we wll back down from our fight for freedom.
At least the whole world now knows that he does not have majority support (contrary to their tunnel-vision analysis of the charter-farter)….at least from the lotu and vanua. These brave Fijians, who are representatives of the lotu and vanua at its highest pinnacle stood up to the regime!!! That’s a victory that we freedom fighters must celebrate and there’s more to come!!!!!

Budhau, I am so angry because everyday I see my freedom being taken away from me as a citizen of this beautiful country. This is probably the only place where you and I can vent some of those frustrations. On the other hand we see these bunch of illegals doing things willy-nilly without the slightest care for transparency, good governance, etc, etc. The very reasons they gave the nation for carrying out the coup.

Budhau,
There you go again!!. The sarcasm in your note above [reading between the lines], is real proof of your hidden and well positioned agenda that are hell bent in distorting reality as long as it supports Voreqe’s illegal Regime!!. It speaks volume of your own interest and obsession to ridicule [at your own pleasure] issues of importance to the Fijian communities. Your defense for Voreqe against the Church above is another admission and added testimony of your role in conducting an anti Fijian propaganda and campaign for your superiors. Why should the Methodist Church be blamed [and be denied their privilege to conduct their Annual Assembly? Its almost 200years now since they have been meeting and who is Voreqe and yourself to prevent them from fulfilling their [the Church’s] prophetic mission?. Your defense of the illegal/Dictatorships and pratises around the world are but attempts to only hoodwink us and to sidestep the issues. It does speaks volume of your own obsession to hide the truth at will for your own selfish agenda. I consider it fair to conclude that you do belong to that cell of ppl pushing for the unprincipled and treasonous dreams of [your] Boss Khaiyum in fulfilling his Vision [as per his Thesis] for the ultimate destruction of Fiji’s three legged stool -Vanua, Lotu and Matanitu. We all are aware that they are provide the foundations that constitute and descibes the interrelationship and fabric of our Fijian life and our cultural and administration Systems. It is also obvious that you are a regularly blogging for a reason. You are indeed a part of the Regime’s misinformation strategy. I liken you to that “Squeeler” character in George Orwell’s book – Animal Farm and of course their “Boxer” whose main purpose are to utter [and to make sure at all times] that -“THE BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT”!. No, your Boss is Not Right.. He is all over WRONG and no amount of your wasting your times here in this blogsite will correct that. No two wrongs can make a right ok??. Asha..

We’ve had enough – and that’s all she wrote. Bugger Frank’s self-serving law and order, and bugger his stage-managed “justice”.

We’re all going to get arrested anyway. It will be a badge of honour for anyone brave enough, or fed up enough, or lucky enough, to get it. Something we can regale each other with now, and something we can boast to our children about in years to come.

I guess Budhau has point there, when stating that all Military Dictatorship Rules when they are in Power.

But…What change is Budhau saying that this Regime is bragging about? Change through DICTATORSHIP? As far back as I can remember he was all for this Coup, the changes that it would bring to our Nation… and now, he is saying that Rule of Law comes through dictatorship?

Word of advice Budhau?…Never open your mouth to wide, for you might step into it…!

Don’t count on all being arrested – remember how Tui was the only guy who hit the street after the court decision came out against Qarase.

Anon – I can understand your anger and can somewhat relate to that also – remember, we have seen many coups, and some of the other guys were in your position also during the previous coups.

The question here is not that we have to get back to Democracy – the issue is whether you want to take on this regime with a uprising or we get out of this they way we did it before.

Tuks – you are just an idiot. I hope they kick you ass.

I am still of the opinion that if the Methodist Church wanted to have its conference, they could have easily found a compromise solution to that problem. Since they wanted a confrontation, they got one. Now, if you guys think this will lead to some uprising – Good luck. If few guys end up in jail and that will be the end of this – that is more likely.

I share yr opinion, particularly, in the last para above: “.. if the Methodist Church wanted to have its conference, they could have easily found a compromise solution to that problem. Since they wanted a confrontation, they got one.”

And they sure did.. too damn right!

I am deeply saddened, and angry, that the Marama na Roko Tui Dreketi had to get herself involved. There is no disputing of her authority over her jurisdiction in Rewa. While I admire her commitment to host the Bose Ko Viti, it just does not make sense to go against the “law” of the land, albeit of this current illegal administration. Evidently, those senior men of the cloth, after all these years, still have not found the way of fighting the “forces of evil”.

And I am further saddened that we didnt see the support for Ro Teimumu Tuisawau from the masses.

There was no uprising – I expected one.

The silence on the blogs was deafening!

Where were the people of Rewa?

O i kemuni na turaga kei na marama ni Rewa kadjina!

May I say, God bless the Gone Marama Bale and may He shower her with wisdom to guide her through her leadership.

Hey folks, I say it the way I see it, so why do you guys get pissed of at the messenger.

First you look at the supposed uprising. Haven’t you folks noticed that the average Fijian at the Suva Market does not really have much to do with politics. Every 5 years, the GCC endorsed a political party and the Fijians were told to vote for that party and then get out of the way. There was no further participation in politics. The politics was handled by a very small group of chiefs and the elite Fijians. Now you want these same people to get involved in this.

When you have a situation like this, all that matters is who is in the drivers seat – he is in control. So Frank replaced Qarase by pushing him out and getting into the drivers seat and he is no in control.

Since the Fijian masses seem to be indifferent towards what has been going on, and one can understand why – because they have been used for the “Fijian cause” twice before and they know better this time.

So if that guy from the Suva Market, Joe Fijian, is not bothered, who do you expect will join this mass uprising- will other religious group and other churches besides the Methodist join in – it does not look like it.

Would the trade union movement join in – not likely except for Attar Singh, Rae and company. What about the merchant group or large business organization like the Hotel owners group – no chance they will come in . How about the Farmers groups or the Landowners – they are sitting on the sidelines.

So who is left. The Methodists and the NFP and Fiji Law Society who have become part of the SDL. (true there are a few independent folks who are working for democracy – Shamima is one of them – and I am sure she would really frustrated to see how all these Democracy Movement crap being hijacked by the SDL/NFP crowd.

If you want to bring back Democracy, get away from SDL – so what did the Methodist guy do after he meets with Frank – he goes straight down to the SDL headquarters to report to the SDL.
They form a Democracy movement and they make Attar Singh the head of that movement – Singh who has his own personal agenda against Chaudary and the FLP. Could they not have found some one with less baggage. The elect the new President of the Fiji Law Society – Naidu, former president of NFP – and some had hoped that the FLS would be one of the groups to stand up to this regime.

So you see guys, the people who had Fiji’s interest at heart, they have been sidelined by the SDL and SDL will play the politics of race further alienating another segment of population.

If Gone Marama Bale had the support of the masses, this is what she could have done.
Refuse to recognize the PER or any other laws put into place by decree. Once arrested, she should not have hired a lawyer who has just signed up under the new order. She should have refused to recognize the court that was put in place by this regime. She should refuse to recognize the authority of the PM or the President.
She should not have asked for bail – just remain in jail, go on a hunger strike if need be. Sure, Frank could have just kept her in jail – but that is the kind of sacrifice that is need off our leaders and we don’t have that kind of leader.

What will happen now, she will show up in court, with a lawyer – she does not have defense for violating the PER so she would most likely be fined – I don’t think a judge will send her to jail and that would be the end of this one.

The conference was scheduled for late August, these guys will be making their round at the court till then.

..and those idiots at the blogs, every time they start talking about an uprising or that conference will go ahead regardless, it just pisses off Frank and fights even harder. You guys wanna do something, go ahead and do it, don’t fricken announce it on some Blogsite. You might feel good pissing off Frank with all these blogs but what has the blogs done for the country.

So what is the strategy now – the church angle did not seem to work and Frank has called your bluff.

This is not about any uprising. If something like that comes, then it will come of its own accord.

As for me (and many others) we are just fed up of the endless procession of lies from this Regime about why bad is good and wrong is right. There is little difference between them and you in that regard – an unsurprising fact since you are a blog mercenary who is specifically PAID to make up ex-poste facto excuses for the regime on the blogs.

But who cares – we are just not going to stand for it any more. This is our country and we have just as much right as Frank or anyone else to decide its future.

One thing is for sure though, Fiji has no future that is ANY different from the present if the regime keeps trying to push things in the direction they are.

So I don’t care if only two people, or 200,000 people reject the regime’s interference in the Bose ko Viti. The only thing that matters is to stand for what we believe in.

Nobody has to compromise with the regime on anything, because as far as we are concerned – their authority is nothing, and they are already history!

Come Monday you will again be trying to think up of more fancy excuses after the Church RE-ITERATES its intention to continue preparations for the Bose ko Viti this coming Sunday.

Yes Jean – the lady should not hire a lawyer who has signed up under the new order. She should not recognize the courts that were established after the constitution was abrogated. She should not recognize the President or the PM or the judges.

Stay in jail, go on a hunger strike or whatever it takes.

But no, two days in jail and that was it – get a good lawyer, recognize the authority of the court, recognize the PER, I won’t be surprised if she pleads guilty for violating the PER.

I like the Mahatmas quote – what do you think he would have done in this situation – I am sure he won’t be going for the bail.

This is your local blog mercenary – my boss is gonna be real pissed off for coming up with that suggestion as to what the lady should have done.

Dictators the world over have never seen themselves accountable to anyone. That said Fiji’s mobsters share these monies amongst themselves and pay out hefty sums to those who stand ready to polish their boots.

Hi_jacking the people’s government was done precisely for the purpose of lining their pockets and all the fancy talks about a better Fiji is believed only by the gullible, the naive and those who pretend respect ME DUA KINA NA KEDRA.

Budhau,
Just go kick your own ….!! The theme for discussion on the above article [Show us the Money Voreqe] focussed on the issue of money mis-spent raising concern in abuse of public office and calling for exercise of proper leadership behaviour and accountability by your heroes at the ig. Your attempt to raise the issue of the Methodist Church are not the point. Again and again, you are deliberately sidestepping the issues everytime some truth are being raised against your ppl . You go “kick their ass” as you said above….
Asha..

Tuks, if you see the post right before mine, the dude was talking about the Methodists – that is why the response. BTW – there are many such threads where the discussion starts of with something and ends up with something else.

As for where is the money – maybe you should find out where the money went from the 200 million collapse of that bank, or the ag scam, or the rent money for the Namosi and Kadavu Houses, and than there was the loan money for the FHL shares, learn your history – the CDF money, aboyut $150 million, under the then minister of agriculture Militone Leweniqila – you see, you gotta go back a long way, that cane farm in seqaqa, that was specially set up to benefit the Fijians, how come the connected Fijians got that land, how come there is no means test for scholarship and the rich Fijians hog the scholarship and the poor Fijians, no one gives a shit about them.

You see, if all this money had not been scammed – we would now have roads that actually go to rural Fijian villages, we may have good healthcare of in rural Fiji, the infant mortality rate may not be this high, life expectancy may be loner, the rural school would be better, the rural urban migration would not be a problem and the squatter problem would not be that bad, and 35% of the Fijians won’t be below poverty line – and in the rural areas half the Fijians are below poverty line.

So you see Tuks, rather than taking me on, you should be asking the same question – where is the money, and you should have asked this question a long time time ago, your father should have asked the same question and so should have you grand-father.

What’s with this Asha crap – that some tea lady said said that her and Chaudary were sitting too close to each other. Next time we will discuss how many of your Ratus have been phucking around or who is up to his third wife or who is screwing whose wife – that is fine with me – we can have that discussion – starting your your national hero, the honorary Ratu, former head of GCC who was screwing some woman in the toilet of a golf club – and that dude was supposed to be a Methodist lay preacher.

BTW- if you know your history , do you know why one of the big Kahunas from Bau had the Tui Nayau ambushed and killed on the island of Ono-i-Lau – because the big Kahuna suspected that the other dude was screwing his wife.

So if you wish to continue the Asha line of discussion, I am perfectly fine with it – BTW – if Chaudary did get a lay while he was the PM, I say lucky old bugger – sort of Bill Clinton kinda guy – you see I am not a hypocrite like some others who come up with the Christian shit – and when you get caught, you claim that that the devil made me do it.

You see Tuks, I think you should continue in school, refine your critical thinking skills.

Bud.
My critical thinking again perceives the usual slur your contribution continue to make deliberately sidestepping issues. What’s so difficult in responding to “Where is the Money Vore?” as raised by the topic under discussion. You again shot yopurself in the foot by coming up with the “other ‘ abuses or similar cases but unfortunately totally unrelated to the issue in front of us in the item !.. It is obvious that you too need to go refine your thinking. Your superiority complex is killing your balance and fairness to the truth. Youy have bias thinking and very much need that critical thinking you raised above dude!!…

Tuks, you are such a fricken idiot – and now you got this little “Asha” thing going – the usual slur – my ass.

The above piece started of with “While the illegal regime and the old oink bully the Methodist Church and GMB Ro Teimumu, who are trying their best to keep Fiji on an even keel through good honest work, can someone please ask the coupsters what they’ve done with the loans from China?

Two things here – the Methodist Church that was mentioned – and the idiot at SV that asked about the Chinese loans.

So it was totally relevant to discuss the Methodist Church and Ro Teimumu. As for the Chinese loans etc. and the news story that the SV idiot was quoting – the transparency that Australia is looking for is from the Chinese – how much aid they give out in the region. The Chinese never disclose its aid, like most other countries.

The problem in not with what Fiji does with the money. The problem that most see is that the regime in Fiji may be able to stall elections because of the Chinese aid and that China should be more responsible in promoting stability in the region.

Since China does not disclose its foreign aid, the news stories that you read are usually done by someone who has studied what projects are done in the Pacific with the Chinese money – that usually come out in the local news media. They take all these numbers and put together an estimate.

If China gives a loan, the only way this comes out is when there is local media story about that project.

When someone comes up with $160 million aid to Fiji in 2007 – they have already looked at the projects that money was pledged for and that is how they come up with that number – that is where that money went – you idiot.

That is how that author of the above story that said that $254 million was the “secretive” aid given by the Chinese to the Pacific Islands – the author has already tracked down the money and that is how she came up with the total.

Now you do your homework, go figure out the amounts from the news stories – like the Navuso Linking Bridge; Somosomo Mini Hydropower Project; Multi-purpose Cargo Vessel; Textile Technical Corporation; E-Government Project; MET and Seismological Service Equipments ; Nadarivatu project etc. and figure out how much went were.

The Australian concern here is that the Chinese should not be providing this aid to Fiji – until Fiji returns to democracy. You idiots took this and made into Frank taking all this money and not accounting for it. The transparency that the Australians are concerned about is China not disclosing its foreign aid.

The Chinese generally finance infrastructure – they don’t give money to Frank so that he can just pocket that – those Chinese ain’t stupid – they ain’t gonna just give money away as aid if someone is just going to pocket it. If that is the purpose than they will just buy the guy out.

The concern here is that Chinese aid Fiji may help the military regime stall the election and that does not help with stability in the region. So you see why idiots like you should be making that case – why China should not give aid to Fiji – not some claim that there is no transparency argument.

Now, Tuks, you go tell your boys at SV and RFN and the like – figure out what the real issue is – do you want to convince the Fijians that Franks is stealing all the money and that the masses, once convinced, will rise against Frank – and if that is the case, good luck – those Fijians ain’t stupid. Or do you want to make the issue out of the increased aid from the Chinese is not good for regional stability and it is in the Chinese long term interest not to finance this regime and help bring back democracy and maybe than work with a democratically elected government in Fiji.

As for you continuously mentioning Asha, do you realize the immature little prick that you are – going off like that. First, how the phuck did you figure out that I was Asha – like some other in here figured out that I was Rajen or some paid military operative of some paid guy from the FLP.

hey, you not one those well connected Fijians who got the FAB scholarship even though you are an idiots, when a more intelligent, more deserving Fijian missed out.

Saying that the Methodist church was out for confrontation is way out of line. This claim would have been believable if you had documented evidence, but if this is your opinion, democratically, you are entitled to it.

There was researched evidence printed on Raw Fiji News about how the Methodist Church had condemned all the coups.

The Lasaro Koroi incident in 1989, 2 years after the first coup had nothing to do with supporting Rabuka, the march was in opposition to the lifting of the Sunday ban.

In 2000 Rev. Tuwere and some Methodost ministers did go into the Parliment grounds where Speight had held captive Chaudary and his Labour party.

In his letter afterwards, he explained that there was a neccessity for spiritual strengthening, to the captives, and the coupsters needed to be addressed biblically to judge their own actions.

This was done because it was their duty to which they are ordained for, it had nothing to do with supporting anyone, especially if it is wrong lawfully morally or spiritually.

Now, Bainimarama in this coup has tried to label the Methodist Church as the fuel or spark to start the fire, which I gather to be your opinion.

We may never know what the Standing commitee discussed in their meeting, so we can assume many things.

This part though we know to be true. The Lotu had decided that the AGM would go ahead.

The Gone Marama Bale was notified traditionally, and she in turn summoned the people of Rewa in accordance

The Methodist Church has to hold this AGM as required by its Constitution, failing to do this could see the Lotu Wesele in breach and can be deemed an illegal religious body.

The Methodist Church which derives its name from its methodical way of worship and structural implementation has not missed a Bose o Viti since 1838, I don’t think the current leaders would like to be found guilty as the the first to abandon or cancel the Bose o Viti.

So, if confrontation does happen, Budhau, it’s not because they went out specifically looking for it, there are much deeper or more important reasons behind it.

We all don’t want to come to this conclusion, but the Methodist Church could be the only legal body still standing and that might be why the Talatalas are prepared to go to jail, degraded and humiliated for it.

The head of all Christian Churches went through it, why shouldn’t they ?

Weather its transperancy or money misused as the question asked,the focus of answers appears to be centered on the gathering in Rewa.Now it brings in the main focus of what has been the fault of Bainimarama’s illegal regime which is the removal of Fiji’s civil & human rights and the liberty to use these rights and the total censorship of the press to broadcast and write anything but that is favourable to the Dictator and his illegal regime.The meeting in Rewa if it goed on and I think it will is going to a rest to Bai’d resolve or it id going to be his waterloo.I am of the opinion that the members of the church will converge in Rewa on th given dates and Bai cannot do anything about it. I don’t think Bai has the guts to use minimum force on the unarmed civillians especially when the whole world will be watching. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Hello Budhau,
we must congratulate you for your foresight and vision for brokering a deal between Mahendra Chaudhary and Qarase for them to meet initially and to work together, now that they have made a joint submission to the UN.So despite our political differences and ideologies we still can work together.
Long live Budhau, I am still trying to finish reading Bhutoo’s book on Pakistan.After this I will read Obama’s book.

Do you guys really want those 2 back in govt? LQ & MPC Haven’t you had your fill with the “familiars”. It’s like going on a roller coaster ride then come back to square one to start all over again. I think you should get rid of old faces all together especially these 2. There’s too much rot following their names.

Anon and Tui – regarding those roadblocks and checkpoints – our soldiers have a lot of experience running checkpoints – with all those peace keeping duties.

Here is how it will work – you start the checkpoints miles out from where the proposed convention is to take place. You let all transportation companies know in advance that anyone knowingly transporting folks to the proposed convention site would be arrested and jailed under PER and the vehicle impounded – bus, taxi, carrier, boat – whatever.

Unless they change the site and decide to have their convention at Korovou or Naboro – since some of these guys may already be there by then.

You guys again are missing the boat by pinning your hopes on guys like Lasaro, Tuikilakila, Kini, Gonelevu, Tugaue and Kanailagi, just like you have high hopes that Qarase would do something – and then there were your Indo boys – Pramod Rae, Attar Singh, Dor Sami Naidu.

I hope when the dust settles, some good leaders emerge from the Fijian community.

Every Church and religious group in Fiji will be able to have their convention, except the Methodists – and the Methodist leadership brougt this upon themselves – anyone who know anything about negotiations would tell you that the Methodists could easily have had their convention by proposing some compromise solution – but no, they wanted a confrontation, the thought Frank was scared and Frank called their bluff.

Suliasi – you are wrong, the Methodists have been behind every coup we have had except the last one – and they are capable of creating an environment this time around that would be a threat to national security or law and order. The government, even if it is a defacto government ( and not legal) must deal with this threat – and we can second guess this by saying that the perceived threat is not real.

Listen guys, most reasonable folks want to see Fiji return to democracy and be a stable country. Our difference is how we get there – I would rather see a negotiated settlement, even if it takes a little longer, than an uprising where folks get hurt.

We have seen how that one coup in 1987 has made Fiji the coup-coup land, you start violence now, and three generations from now, those folks will still be dealing with this violence.

Kaiveicoco – you got it wrong – while I think it is a good idea for Chaudary to work with Qarase -I did not have anything to do with it. BTW – Chaudary have no problem with the meeting, it was Qarase who initially did not wish to work with Chaudary – good thing he changed his mind. This thing is not about people, it is about “interests.” – find things that is mutually beneficial – and where you have disagreement, try and work it out.

And it assumes that they will do a repeat of their Kalabo beating of civilians – which they won’t, and which even if they did, the civilians would not back down.

That is the reason they are having to palm off all their PER arrests quickly to the “courts”. Because they can’t risk an open defiance of their dwindling authority by the troops.

The church leadership has re-iterated this weekend its intent to continue with plans to hold its conference in Rewa as previously announced! Nothing has changed except that the arrangements have been devolved down to the congregational level.

What good then did your pitiful arrests do? See! The authority of the regime is also collapsing. They have overplayed their hand, and now they have frittered it away – never to return because the people have finally made up their minds on this regime and its ever-changing false promises. The benefit of the doubt is now over.

As a result, the people are beginning to no longer care what they say, and more and more of us are not scared of being put in prison or taken up to the barracks any more either. How could that be any worse than the unbroken stream of blatant lies, mistakes and injustices from the regime?

It doesn’t matter that it is being done to someone else, or that the regime is trying to minimize its collateral damage. It is just absolutely abhorrent – ABHORRENT that our nation – OUR NATION – could do something so unjust to ANYBODY.

The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an ENTIRELY CONTRARY purpose! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! (Bastiat)

Well – ENOUGH! NO MORE!

Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees! Really!

Even Mahen, and the FLP, and the union movement can see that now. Fiji’s REAL roadmap to democracy has been released to the Forum, and the MSG and other Frank supporters have been left looking ridiculous out on their poorly considered “limb”. The regime’s isolation at the top just got a whole lot lonelier.

Frank and Aiyaz and their pitiful band have outstayed their welcome and now they will have to become flat out brutal continuously if they really want to stay in power. Because nothing else will keep the people from openly opposing them now.

People are already openly criticizing the regime in ways that they never would in 2007/8. The tide is turning, and your cheap psyops tokyo rose tricks to try and deflate the righteous anger of the people is just like so much gastric wind – malodorous and not worth bothering about.

You can pen your Br’er-Rabbit-don’t-throw-me-in-the-briar-patch reverse psychology till the cows come home but it won’t make any difference!

We are going to Rewa, and we are going to get beaten/arrested/intimidated, and we ain’t gonna stop until we’ve done what we went to do!

Stick that in you pipe and see how much political stability you get out of it!!

Bud/Asha,
You’re a real creep!!.. Your cheap smear at Qarase against Chaudhry above [5.22pm], cheated on you and only [again and again], expose your rotten and bias state of mind. It smacks of mockery on your your claims of being abundant with intelligence. You attempt to employ hasty generalisations, jumping to conclusions and accumulations of words for emphasis have all but failed you. You dont sound convincing at all..Instead, you only prove how big and conniving conman mentality and person you truly are. If you reckon that because you cant convince us so you try to confuse , then very sorry ..I suggest you stop. You aint convincing at all. You clearly are only exposing that very strong racist person you must truly be. Hiding under the cover of being a sensible blogger no longer helps buddy .We no longer read with interest your contribution on this blogsite. Thank you for always wasting your time…

Jd’A says: “We are going to Rewa, and we are going to get beaten/arrested/intimidated, and we aint gonna stop until we’ve done what we went to do!”.

Yes, indeed. I can say I rather like that too!

The question is.. Will we be able to get to Rewa?. It is obvious the Military and the police will start erecting roadblocks to control the masses and the navy will watch over river access. Is that something we expect to deal with?

While the Methodist Church has been barred from convening the Bose Ko Viti in Rewa, the Lau Province has just begun its 3-day affair in Suva.

@ Lfj like Jean said better to die on your feet OR DIE SWIMMING ACROSS THE REWA RIVER to Lomanikoro than live on our knees. Road blocks and air raids is not a deterrent for a people who have had enough !

Lau Province having a 3 day function in Suva whilst the TAUKEI NI QELE are denied hosting their function in Rewa comes as no surprise

My chiefs are current coupsters/usurpers/ dictators/call it whatever you want

Of course my chiefs will get whatever they want when they have the guns doing the bidding for them

LF – the point is not to have a conference. The point is to defy their authority.

We can do that anywhere. So whether they round us up at the village, or in the river, or on the road – it doesn’t matter. What matters is that WE do not comply with their directives ourselves, but make them force us to comply.

Thus will their authority be further eroded, and the task of governing the people made even more difficult and unwieldy than it already is. And from that next stage, THEN we consider how to make the following step.

Following is a mini parable by Dr Neil Anderson to illustrate the point I am driving at:

“When I was a boy on the farm, my dad, my brother and I would visit our neighbor’s farm to share produce and labor. The neighbor had a yappy little dog that scared the socks off me. When it came barking around the corner, my dad and brother stood their ground, but I ran. Guess who the dog chased! I escaped to the top of our pickup truck while the little dog yapped at me from the ground.

Everyone except me could see that the little dog had no power over me except what I gave it. Furthermore, it had no inherent power to throw me up on the pickup; it was my belief that put me up there. That dog controlled me by using my mind, my emotions, my will, and my muscles, all of which were motivated by fear. Finally, (my Dad said ‘Son this is getting a little embarrassing.’ So) I gathered up my courage, jumped off the pickup, and kicked a small rock at the mutt. Lo and behold, it ran!”

In our case, whether the regime dogs run or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that WE don’t do their dirty work for them through faint-heartedness, inertia or confusion!

In view of the Methodist theme of these discussions, anyone interested in the rest of that parable can read it below:

Satan is like that yappy little dog: deceiving people into fearing him more than God. His power is in the lie. He is the father of lies (John 8:44) who deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9), and consequently the whole world is under the influence of the evil one (1 John 5:19). He can do nothing about your position in Christ, but if he can deceive you into believing his lies about you and God, you will spend a lot of time on top of the pickup truck! You don’t have to outshout him or outmuscle him to be free of his influence. You just have to outtruth him. Believe, declare, and act upon the truth of God’s Word, and you will thwart Satan’s strategy.

I have learned from the Scriptures and my experience that truth is the liberating agent. The power of Satan is in the lie, and the power of the believer is in knowing the truth. We are to pursue truth, not power.

John 8:32
You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!

Excellent piece, let’s not lose sight of the Lord and his infinite power and grace for us his beloved children. Let’s not be distracted by some of the idle chatter others have posted but fox our eyes on the Lord.

Acts 4:12 For there is no other name under Heaven, by which we must be saved.

I also hope my errant daughter Fijiana88 will read this and see the light.

May the truth set us all free indeed. Just wondering if we should also be talking about plan Bs and Plan Cs in case going to Rewa becomes impractical for some.

Like what do people need to do if they get stopped at checkpoints on bridges etc. Should one camp there or return home? What are the options to take? Should we take cameras and mobile phones and let the world know about whats happening on the ground (Iran experience)? If the military close the internet should we give tourists photos etc to get published in overseas newspapers and websites?

Have we then reached the point where there is a need to buy into a leader?. One who has a vision for us all. A leader who already has a dream – or perhaps, lets say, one who has dared to dream!. For only then will he be able to find the people – the numbers to rally behind him in the way Mahatma Gandhi did for his countrymen.

And what an appropriate quote from the man there, Jd’A!

Lets take our lead from Gandhi on how he based his vision for change in India, on nonviolent civil disobedience. For he is known to have also said, “Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind.” Could that be the force, KatalinaB?

So, simply, Gandhi’s challenge to the people was to meet oppression with peaceful disobedience and noncooperation.

He called the people to STAND and not fight back. Can we do that here? Yes we can!

Am saying that you sit on the fence. You are neither here nor there. It hasn’t escaped our attention THAT you loathe any kind of resitance against the regime. You spring sring right up out of the woodwork when there is serious talks of uprising be it peaceful or otherwise. For those ofn us who follow the blogs seriously that is You should know we haven’t missed it. You talk a good talk as long as it is not anything that will harm the regime and you know as we all do that there is only 1 way to bring down the regime : PEOPLE POWER

Mobilising the people to damage this regime scares the hell out of you.

The people will always win. All we are saying is why wait out 15 to 20 years before the people decide to take to the streets as in the case of the Philipinos /? Fijians should rise up now and end all these madness. So THERE WILL BE CASUALTIES who cares That is the price we pay for a better tomorrow we will for Fiji’s generations to come.

If the link does not open up to the story take it to your browser and look for that headline.

It tells of how the people rose up againt Marcos 20 years after he declared martial law. Why are we in Fiji waiting for these cockroaches to wreack havoc for 20 years before we finally wake up and wipe them out?

So what is this all about. All I see in this thread is that some folks are trying to get others go to Rewa. Come on guys, stop doing this, because some poor folks like Tui may just decide to follow thru on this one – and get his ass kicked.

All that talk about the Gandhi dude – you see – that Gandhi fella he avoided violence toward his opponents – that does not mean that there was no violence toward him or his followers. Gandhi also said that non-violent activists must also be willing to die for their cause – they were just not ready to kill for a cause.

I like Jone’s line, “So THERE WILL BE CASUALTIES who cares That is the price we pay for a better tomorrow we will for Fiji’s generations to come.”

Right on Jone – you go boy – so have you bought your ticket to Fiji? – looking forward to seeing your picture in the papers – just like poor Tui with his shower curtain.

BTW – where do we send the donation for your defense fund – because, after they kick your ass, they will take you to court, give your a fair trial for violating the PER and than put your ass in jail (all three of you)- so you willing to pay that price – good for you, now, we just wish that there were more like you.

Or is this all just talking big – just a load of crap – and you will be postponing this trip to Rewa – like every other “protest march” that has been postponed.

Jd’A – you seem to be real frustrated – hey, we are all in this for long haul, you cannot get frustrated like this.